A free genealogical workshop will be offered on October
27, 2007, from 9:00 a. m. to 1:00 p. m. at the Southwest Collection/Special
Collections Library located at 15th and Detroit on the Texas Tech University
campus in Lubbock. Pre-registration is required. To reserve a space, call
806-742-9070 and ask for Pat Clark, reference archivist. Come and discover the
variety of resources this unique archive has to offer researchers seeking
ancestors in Texas and the southwestern United States!

Fast on the heels of V. L. Skinner's
ninth volume, which came out in June, comes his ABSTRACTS OF THE TESTAMENTARY
PROCEEDINGS OF THE PREROGATIVE COURT OF MARYLAND, VOLUME X: 1704 - 1707, Libers:
19B, 19C. This latest addition to the series refers to roughly 7,000 early
inhabitants in what is now known as the Old Line State. Some recurring surnames
are BARTON, BISHOP, BRANNOCK, COURSEY, DORSEY, ELBERT, ERRICKSON, HANSON, LOW,
MANNING, SOUTHERN, and WICKS.

By now, readers of this excellent
series know that the Prerogative Court, staffed by a judge and clerks, was the
focal point for probate proceedings in colonial Maryland. All probate matters
went directly to the court, located in the colonial capital of Annapolis.
Although administration of probate was later delegated to the county courts,
many documents related to probate continued to be filed at the Prerogative Court
instead of in the appropriate county. As in earlier years, the Prerogative Court
was also the colonial court for equity cases, which dealt with the resolution of
disputes over the settlement and distribution of estates.

Following the format of his previous
volumes, Skinner arranges material in chronological order by court session. He
combed through administration bond, will, inventory, administration account, and
final balance entries to produce the collection of material in this new work. In
general, the information furnishes the names of the principals (testators,
heirs, witnesses, and administrators, for example) and details concerning the
bequests and the names of appraisers and slaves. Because facts pertaining to
early residents and their activities may not be readily available in other
records, genealogists tracing ancestors in the Old Line State may find
invaluable data in ABSTRACTS OF THE TESTAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS OF THE
PREROGATIVE COURT OF MARYLAND, VOLUME X: 1704 - 1707, Libers: 19B, 19C.

Containing 252 pages, the soft cover
publication includes an introduction, a full name index, and an index to equity
cases. To the book's price of $29.50, buyers should add the charges for postage
and handling. For U. S. postal mail, the cost is $4 for one book and $2.00 for
each additional copy; for UPS, the cost is $6 for one copy and $2.50 for each
additional book. VOLUME X (item order #9972) may be purchased by check,
MasterCard, or Visa from Clearfield Company, 3600 Clipper Mill Rd., Suite 260,
Baltimore, Maryland 21211 (for phone orders, call toll free 1-800-296-6687; fax
1-410-752-8492; website
www.genealogical.com).

On November 2-3, 2007, the North
Carolina Genealogical Society will hold its annual meeting and workshop at the
Brier Creek Country Club in Raleigh, NC. Presenters will be professional
genealogists Thomas W. Jones, Jeffrey L. Haines, and Helen F. M. Leary. Topics
to be discussed are understanding the lingo, tracing common surnames such as
JONES, placing your ancestors in geographic context, utilizing proven techniques
for finding ancestral European origins, using tax records, avoiding being duped
by the internet, and organizing evidence to overcome record shortages. For more
details go to the website at
www.ncgenealogy.org or e-mail
info@ncgenealogy.org.

Charles N. Ferguson, 811 South
Market, Shawnee, OK 74801 is seeking information about the family of Lawrence
WEEKS, born in 1908 or 1909 in Texas and died 25 December 1988 in Childress, TX.
His mother Gertie (Gertrude?) and her children appear on the 1920 census of
McCurtain Co., OK. Gertie was the daughter of Charley Austin SMITH of Texas and
McCurtain Co., OK.